Obama joins outrage for Lockerbie bomber's reception
The White House responded today with its strongest condemnation yet to the celebration that greeted Pan Am Flight 103 bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in Libya.
Over protests from the Obama adminisration, Scotland released Megrahi on compassionate grounds Thursday because he has terminal prostate cancer. That decision outraged the families of the 270 victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, many of them Americans. And that anger only grew with the televised scenes of the hero's welcome for Megrahi.
"Highly objectionable," Obama told reporters on the White House lawn.
"Outrageous and disgusting," added White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
"We continue to express our condolences to the families that lost a loved one as a result of this terrorist murder," Gibbs added. "We communicated with the Libyan government, and we continue to watch what they do in the days going forward about this individual, and understand that the video that you saw yesterday is tremendously offensive to the survivors."
About Political Intelligence
Glen Johnson is Politics Editor at boston.com and lead blogger for "Political Intelligence." He moved to Massachusetts in the fourth grade, and has covered local, state, and national politics for over 25 years. E-mail him at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen. |
